no one can live life in loneliness, only stars in the sky far away... [WELCOME everyone from everywhere, with intention or by accident - THIS BLOG IS BEST VIEWED IN WEB VERSION FORMAT as its how I envision it to be with the text and photos but still any layout format will work just fine.]

Monday, December 23, 2013

My Photo Of The Year, fajar & mee rebus (kuah asingkan)

Banyak benda nak berbual...

I wish I can do a round-up for the year.
So lets try with episode one. I snapped countless photos of anything I fancy for 2013 using mostly my handphone and also digital camera.
I think this is the photo I like most, because it has a lot of things happening and kind of meaningful to me.So I choose this as my self-taken 2013 photo of the year.

Hands and even legs tumbling all over the place, Iron Maiden is playing on stage, at the most legendary of hard and heavy rock place that I ever know of since a young boy, Castle Donington. A place all my life that I was wondering how it feels like to be at.

I thought I was standing in quite a safer place away from the eye of the storm, though its still packed like a can of sardines.
Holding tight to my handphone while taking a photo, afraid it will be knocked out of my hands and I don't think I can retrieve it if once it drop on the ground haha.

Until I saw the pro-shots of BBC broadcast which shows Maiden playing and I realised how many people were at Main Stage and where I was. (Oooo if I got to go to the gents hahaha!!!)

A printscreen from youtube. And I realised, my goodness.
It was cold and raining on and off, with some in full raincoats, and windy, and slippery and squeezing but it was great as where I was the sound was awesome.
Really different contrast with the green fields and hills behind the Main Stage.

next,Something calm...

I was just looking at these buildings, then from a distance I saw a bigger bird than normal...soaring and flying continuously. Very majestic.
So I kind of like it... and I take out my handphone and snap it.
Thru the hustle and bustle and human beings going about their work in the city, and you have an eagle, flying about. I kind of guess its one of the local eagles.

The eagle is somewhere on the left of the photo haha..

Besides it being a Helloween "Eagles Fly Free" moment, but more of a late 70s Malay Language Religious Theme Song instead.
Hidayah - Fajar (dawn breaking, first signs of the sun is appearing)
Though the Photo I took was during Maghrib I think (sunset).

Food, Glorious Food time,

This is Mee Rebus (Takeaway), literally translated from the Malay language as Boiled Noodle, or something like that, Most famous in Johor (Southern Malaysia) and Singapore. Love by people from all ethnic groups.
Seperated the gravy till you want to eat it, so you don't add the gravy in advanced or it will make the noodles become soggy..

Iron Maiden(of course), Black Sabbath, AC/DC, Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW, Megadeth, Nightwish etc etc in an 11 DAYS Madness backpacking, little sleep, alone thru England & Germany thousands of km by Planes/Trains/Buses and lots of walking thru muddy watery floods and rain. I will also add additional details on how to get to some of these rocking places. Reports and photos to be updated whenever I got the chance. Click some of the event tshirts above to get direct to these related "Rock Europe 2016" postings..

SOME IRON MAIDEN SHOWS ARE FOR ME TO GO ""MENTAL"", WHILE SOME OTHER shows are for me to be like a mouse & to try to take photos and be more focus on each member of the band, analyse their performance as a fan and the show itself. This is a Maiden show that I did not went "MENTAL. LOL!!. So lots of pretty photos that I like and doesnt matter if no one else like it. As usual click Steve Harris above

How To Travel alone To Hellfest, Clisson Nantes France and all the good and bad that comes with it?

Click the above backprint of the tshirt to see how I travel alone to Hellfest without knowing any French using public transportation, choosing to sleep in Nantes nightly, and all the many mistakes that I made, which hurts my budget LOL!!!

Click the Maiden England poster above for the still INCOMPLETE report of my backpacking travels to Donington Park Download Festival, Birmingham, London, and Frankfurt to see some really awesome bands in some awesome places with awesome crowds

I try to photograph Maiden in the madhouse environment of their first night in Frankfurt 2013

As the previous tour, the photos I took may not be nice to other peoples eyes, but I love every each of these results, click Steve Harris above for their 2013 in action photos. Sadly not as many as the 200 photos I took of them in action across Australia in 2011.

Scream For Me Donington!!

How did I travel to Donington Park daily by staying at Derby instead of camping.

Click above photo of Iron Maiden headlining on the second day for 2013 festival. Donington Download Festival Logistics is amazing for me, as the crowd can hit near 100,000

Would be nice if Maiden plays South East Asia for this very special Maiden England tour but ....

11 June 2013 Frankfurt Germany

12 June 2013 Frankfurt Germany

15 June 2013 Donington Park UK

xx xx 2013 Malaysia

xx xx 2013 Singapore

It begins with a dream... I dont think I can ever repeat this adventure again

I am so happy with each photo because I have always wondered how its like to capture photos of Maiden on stage and I did it although I am using a cheap, easy to smuggle in, easy to hide from security, small point and shoot camera and trying to stand still in a sea of madness.

its " www.deafeningforever.blogspot.com ". Last updated - 11 April 2011. Or go thru the *labels sections in this same column to check out my previous visits to exhibitions, museums, historical places and zoos. I love these stuffs.

* labels linked to topics I blog before or you can find similar labels at bottom of each blog post.

Personalised Trooper Eddie

Derek Riggs was kind enough to accede to my humble request for a drawing of my favourite Eddie when I got the Hardcover version (now sold out) of his book..

Youtube Channel

Bootlegs of some live shows attended, scenes of live shows and Festivals, some frolicking animals at the zoo, travelling & other things...

The latest by me on some topics.

cds, dvds, concerts, merchandise, books, travelling, animals, zoos, nature,photography, leisure, food and everything else is ALL MIXED UP in this blog, these are some of my latest opinions on some of the topics, the rest YOU CAN go thru the labels section above.

Where Eagles Dare ( my other websites )

A Most Memorable Evening

It took me 25 years as a Maiden fan (83-08) to finally see them live with my better half by my side. Pathetic and embarassing as a loyal fan but I cant afford it before being in the wrong bloody continent. One of the great lessons in life, when you really want something, you have to put in much effort. It may look to be beyond your ability and reach, but sometimes dreams can come true. Mine did.

stranger in a strange land

ghost of the navigator

~ Mentally Yours ~

"I never went to college
I dont have a degree
Lets say I went to nite school
I learned all I know on the streets
I wasnt born a rich man
I aint got no pedigree
The sweat on this old collar
Thats my Ph.D."
In life, there are things that most people take for granted, but not for me but everyone has their stories.
My earthly pleasures are many but two more evil ones and the milestones are -
1979 - became a lifelong Arsenal fan because its the choice of either supporting the Gunners or The Red Devils and "as a young boy chasing dragons", devils are bad and the cannon looks pretty. Anyway, you can change your life, but you cant change your team. 1983 - listened to Iron Maiden's Piece Of Mind tape and the rest is a glorious history..
2008 - Pathetic and embarassing but thats the truth, I only got to see Maiden live in Perth for the first time in my life with my better half by my side. It means a lot to me. Fast forward to 2011, they played Singapore for their long suffering fans in South East Asia. I also managed to backpack to Australia to catch them again in a few places.
So not bad really, for a fan born in the ass of the world as far as being a Maiden fan is concerned.

Let me take you far away, You'd like a holiday..

Once in a blue moon and if we can save up a bit, we take the chance to get away out of Malaysia and Singapore and go to another place, and these are our adventures. Click Krabi's bamboo island beach above or check on the *labels section for the specific places. AND NOPE THAT IS NOT ME ABOVE LOL!!! I just like this photo...